


Disenchanted

by katsudono



Series: The Enchanted Pages [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Abuse, F/F, F/M, Fanfiction, Gen, M/M, Marauders' Era, Mental Health Issues, Past Child Abuse, Physical Abuse, Plot Twists, Werewolves, wolfstar
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-23
Updated: 2017-11-19
Packaged: 2019-01-04 11:07:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 20,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12167631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katsudono/pseuds/katsudono
Summary: Enchantment is one of the most difficult forms of magic. The user must use their strongest spell and the charms of their personality to cast the mysterious magic on a person. However, in order to be freed from the spell, the person must overcome themselves.In this year in Hogwarts, the infamous Marauders are disenchanted from life. Because they are sad songs with nothing to say.





	1. The Pandora Box

**Author's Note:**

> I came up with the idea of writing the story of the Marauders with small twists here and there, since I'd like to see how certain things would have turned out if more characters came in the light or the decisions they made were different. The twists and turns will decide the continuation of the book. 
> 
> This book also exists on Wattpad, under the same title in my profile (SleepyNinjaa).
> 
> Thank you a lot for choosing to give this book a read!

School means anything but fun. Even the word on its own sounds blunt, boring,  _catastrophic_. Those were the thoughts that were buzzing in Sirius Black's head as he tapped his finger against his leg. He lazily glanced out of the blurred from the smoke window of his train cabin, trying to distinguish the usual figures of his friends within the crowd of wizards and witches biding their goodbyes to their children.

His sixth year in Hogwarts was about to begin and his friends were late,  _as usual_.

The sudden jolt of the cabin door caused the boy to snap his head to it, only to find out that one of his best friends and classmate, Peter Pettigrew, was trying to open the door as if it was a magically sealed diamond door. Having occupied one of the window seats and not intending to let it go, Sirius simply twirled his wand and the door was opened.

Peter stepped inside the cabin and ran a hand nervously through his light brown hair, "Hi, Sirius."

Sirius answered with a nod of his head and looked behind the boy, "Did you happen to stumble upon any of the other two idiots who probably overslept?"

He shook his head in denial and took a seat across him, "I-I think Remus will be-"

"Oh, in the name of Merlin's blue balls, I'm stuck with you for one more year?"

Just outside the cabin stood none other than the arrogant, messy-haired James Potter, wearing his usual cocky smirk and crooked Gryffindor tie. Sirius couldn't help but smile back playfully, shoving the four-eyed boy's leg with his foot when he sat besides him.

"I thought that we'd get to see you in front of Hogwarts with your bed still attached on you."

James flipped his middle finger right in front of the dark-haired male's face, "And I thought I'd find you pining Marlene McKinnon against the hallway."

Sirius made a face full of disgust, "That was one time and hell no am I going to do it again. She may be charming but her tongue in my mouth was anything but that."

The two other boys chuckled, giving a high-five to each other for unearthing this unpleasant memory for their friend. James scratched the back of his head, or more precisely  _beehive_ , and sensed his cheeks taking fire, "Marlene might be like this but her best friend is . . . woah."

Sirius raised his eyebrows in amusement, "Oh, Lily Evans? The girl you've been chasing for six years straight but has not even bothered sparing you a look? At least I took a taste of her best friend." He scrunched his nose at the memory. "Maybe it's time to let go of the grip you have on her and search for someone new. Maybe you'll find someone who isn't a ginger."

"You think that I like her for her looks? If I wanted a ginger, I could go for her best friend." James sighed dreamily, staring at the foggy window as if he was falling in love with it. "She's much more than her looks."

Peter snickered, "As if you'd know."

Suddenly, all three of them shook back and forth from the sudden movement of the train. The Hogwarts train was leaving off for the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Yet the Marauders group was incomplete.

Sirius greeted his teeth, "That damn Remus . . . "

"That's weird," mused James, fixing his glasses on his nose. "The straight O's boy is not on board and late? He must have died."

Peter shook his head in disapproval, "I'm gonna miss Remus."

Sirius whacked the back of Jame's head and kicked Peter's leg, "You two are bad troll luck with bones and flesh so shut the bloody hell up."

The four-eyed boy simply snickered and remained silent as the candy cart rolled by. He was the only one who bought something from their company; a chocolate frog and Red Dragon brownies. Never failing to give you an explosive taste in your mouth.

"Why so jumpy, Padfoot?" he mused as he opened his Chocolate Frog, revealing a Dumbledore card. "Wait until you listen all about this week; I almost got Muggle-arrested! Father almost disowned me, too, but I don't think I deserved my almost-given punishment. I nearly replaced all the water in this fish tank called aquarium with fire and . . ."

The more James rambled, the less Sirius paid attention to his endless story. Usually, he would listen to every word he spelled, just so he could throw witty remarks and frustrate the boy. But that day was different and he couldn't pinpoint what exactly bothered him to the point he would act out of his character. Maybe it was Remus' unusual absence, leaving the "amazing four" incomplete. Or maybe it was the ever-growing tension in his household, deranging from his parents' constant fighting about him to his brother's sudden decision.

Royal grey eyes were focused on the changing surroundings out of the window, fields taking the place of other vast lands. Scotland was famed for its unlimited crop fields and its immense amount of animals. Little did the boy know that two pairs of worried eyes were staring at him this whole time he was spacing out.

"Sirius," James' voice boomed in the narrow space. The said boy snapped his stare towards his friend. "Did anything happen this last week?"

"Eh, you know, the usual! Girls, finishing my room decoration with new motorcycle posters I . . . found in . . ."

His grey eyes were locked at something by the door and he trailed off, causing both of his friends to turn and look at . . . a mop of pale blonde hair vanishing in the corridor. A second after, it reappeared with its owner who held a notebook in her hands and motioned with her pen on the air in front of her, as if she was writing on the atmosphere. The girl swirled around and locked her eyes on the Marauders' cabin.

And in the next moment, she had entered the cabin and had occupied the seat besides Peter. All three boys were stunned and stared at her figure until the bravest decided to speak up.

"Excuse me, but . . . " James trailed off.

The blonde girl rose her head from her notebook and looked at the boy across her, "Yes?"

Peter, even though he was startled to Hogwarts and back, cleared his throat, "Who are you?"

"Oh," she mused, raising her eyebrows. "Pandora Lovegood." And she returned to noting down Merlin knows what.

James opened his mouth to say something but Sirius clasped his hand over it. "She's obviously crazy so you better say nothing," he whispered cautiously to his friend.

"Not crazy, just a passionate researcher," Pandora added, making Sirius stiffen, for his secret opinion had been uncovered. Without raising her head from her notebook, she tapped on her ears, "Supersensory Charm. I can sense everything you can't . . . or think I can't."

Pandora raised her head and looked at Sirius with those petrifying blue eyes of her, the ends of her lips curling slightly upwards. The boy was not embarrassed at all; he simply snorted arrogantly and crossed his arms.

James adjusted his glasses, "I'm . . . James Potter. Nice to meet you."

"And I'm Peter. Uh, Peter Pettigrew."

The girl simply nodded and turned her attention back on her notes. James, famed for not being able to keep his mouth closed, leaned closer towards her.

"What are you writing down there?"

"Observations from spells, herbs usage, new charms." She turned a page. "Nothing your little brain can understand."

"Hey!" James cried out, the tips of his ears reddening from being insulted. "You're sitting in our cabin without our permission and you're calling me stupid? At least show some respect, you damn Ravenclaw."

"Told you she's crazy," Sirius muttered.

Pandora slammed her notebook shut, "You know what's crazy? Your family holding a grudge against half-bloods and your brother becoming a-"

"Enough," Sirius growled, slamming his hand against the window. His grey steel eyes stared at the girl whose blunt expression hadn't changed ever since she had focused in the contents of her notebook. "Get the hell out."

Her blue eyes remained on his figure for a moment before she stood up and left from their cabin as suddenly she had entered it. 'Well, that sure escalated quickly,' Peter thought whistled in surprise, pushing himself even more back in his seat to watch the mysterious girl leaving. The black-haired boy exhaled in relief and looked at his friends who were filled with unanswered questions but were just as glad that the girl had left.

Not even a minute of sitting in the electrified cabin had passed and the door of their cabin was opened once more, only to reveal the much-awaited member of the group.

Sirius, as if having forgotten about his outburst a moment ago, whistled, "And the prince arrives! How has your Majesty been doing?"

James ogled at the male, furrowing his eyebrows, "Where have you been?"

Remus Lupin took his seat besides Peter with a disturbed expression decorating his fair-colored face, "Was that Pandora Lovegood leaving our cabin a moment ago?" The brown-haired boy slid his suitcase under his seat and fixed a wild strand of hair which had fallen in his face.

"Will you just tell us where in Merlin's name you've been?" the Potter cursed, impatience being clearly shown on his face.

"I'm . . . " Remus trailed off, playing nervously with his fingers while staring down at them. The previously tense atmosphere had morphed into an awkward one with a speechless Lupin making everyone wait for a shocking revelation. "Eh . . . "

Sirius clicked his tongue, "Cat got your tongue,  _Moony_?"

"Well it's not easy to tell you that I've been chosen to be a prefect, Padfoot!"

"Prefect?!" James and Peter nearly screamed in his face, causing the boy to blush slightly from uneasiness.

"Yes, I . . . Yeah." Remus' lips curled upwards, forming a prideful smile that he never knew he would wear for himself up to now. Being a prefect meant pride, acknowledgment, respect, power. He was chosen to be responsible for his fellow classmates and the well-being of the student body, a duty only an accountable person like him could carry out. Being a prefect surely electrified his brain.

Sirius raised his hands up in defeat, "Alright, I give up - too much has happened today, I need a break already."

"But was that seriously Pandora Lovegood?"

"Most unfortunately, yes. Calling  _me_  stupid . . . "

"She's crazy."

" _Bat-shit_  crazy."

☽ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ☾

The buzzing of the students the moment they were all concentrated in front of Hogwarts was greater than the one engulfing Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. The first-years were the most anxious-looking, even though they were extraordinarily excited to enter the huge castle. The rest of the student body was more than less excited to spend another year in school, already looking forward to graduating. The minute the huge doors were opened, members of the Prefects lead their assigned groups to their dormitories where they started settling down and organizing their personal items.

James Potter was the quickest one to unpack his suitcase, yet his mind was travelling far away from the magic castle suited nearby a lake in Scotland. The moment he had noticed the girl who had a special place in his heart walking across him with her friends, chatting freely with that adorable smile on her face, he could swear he had felt his heart beat as hard and fast as the Hogwarts train's machine.

He could never get off his mind her green eyes which resembled the vast pine tree forests of the mountains surrounding the castle and her fiery red hair, as if colored by the feathers of Dumbledore's Phoenix bird he had discovered the previous year when he had sneaked in his office secretly - an action which got him heavily punished. Every time she laughed, he shivered from its clear hearing. Never in his life had he, James Potter, admired such being in that way.

'I'm truly, totally, unimaginably in love with Lily Evans,' the boy thought to himself, hugging one of his robes as if he was holding her.

Remus, who happened to have occupied the bed besides him, ogled at the Potter with curiosity, "What are you exactly doing?"

It took James a moment to snap out of his daydream, immediately throwing his robe back in his suitcase, "Uh, nothing?"

"You were hugging a robe, James," he inquired, concerned as to why his friend was acting so mental. But then it hit him.

"Lily Evans!" sang the voice of Sirius who hang from the bed above Remus' like a monkey, his nice-sculpted face having taken a smug expression.

The four-eyed boy's cheeks were tinted with a small blush and he flailed his arms above his head, "How can I not? She's the - "

"Most beautiful girl I've seen and I can't wait to shove my tongue into her mouth!" Sirius sang again in a pretentious girly voice, earning a hard shove in his face from James.

Suddenly, Peter barged in the dorm, earning the attention of all the students in it. With his exhaustion being clearly shown on his face, he neared his group of friends.

"Prefect meeting . . . Want you . . . go," he mumbled under his breath, tugging Remus' sleeve.

An unexpected wave of nervousness and excitement washed over the young boy, making him straighten his back. "I . . . guess I have to go," he murmured, earning assured nods from his friends.

"Go get them - Oh, crap, I really have to lay down," Sirius complained, rubbing his head from standing upside-down for too long.

Taking skeptical steps, Remus made his way out of the dorms and left his group of friends on their own.

Peter nearly collapsed on Remus' bed, trying to catch his breath.

"Where did you come from - London? You sound like you ran a marathon," James commented, sitting on his bed.

Peter raised his head from the bed and took a final shaky breath in, "You have no idea how scary those prefects can be. And those crazy magical stairs - I always hated them! I had to jump on some of them to get here on time!" The ginger-head sat up abruptly, making James hit his head on the bed above him from surprise. "I nearly forgot!"

"What?!"

"On my way here, I tripped on a staircase and well, I felt something weighting down my pocket. When I checked it, I found a note in it," he stated, searching in his robe pockets and taking out a folded piece of paper. "It's directed to you, Sirius."

Sirius jumped off his bed and shoved himself besides Peter, taking the note from his hands. Unfolding it, a messy handwriting decorated it with red ink.

_It seems that where is evil, there is always a ray of pureness and peace. Come and meet me by the Herbology lab tomorrow, at 11 a.m. Don't be late._

_\- Anesi Doro_

"Anesi . . . Doro?" the male spelled with difficulty, a smile finding its way up his lips. Laughing erupted from his mouth and with one swift movement, he crumpled the note and threw it on the floor. "Someone is messing with us."

James picked up the note and took a quick glance of its contents, "A secret fan? Could be. We have a lot of these nowadays. We could always go and meet them, see what they want us for."

"But what if it's a trap?" Peter inquired, clasping his hands together.

Both boys glanced at him with curiosity plastered on their faces. "A trap?"

"Think about it . . . We've pranked a lot of people these past years,  _including_  teachers," he explained, looking at James when he mentioned the teacher part. "Someone might want to get revenge."

Sirius tapped his finger on the bed stand, "And in front of half of the student body, we'd be bloody humiliated for life."

"Nonetheless, we should do some research, maybe we can find something about this . . . Anesi whatever," said James and shoved the note in his pocket. "No rush decisions."

The black-haired male sighed and punched his friend's shoulder softly, "Whatever, it's probably nothing and it  _should_  mean nothing to us. You know what should? Alisa Northway's ass and our new prank on Slitherus. Or, for you, Lily Evans'  _ass_."

One more slap on the head earned by James.

☽  ‒  ‒  ‒  ‒  ‒  ☾ 

Like every welcoming meal, this year's first meal did not fail anyone's expectations. Or at least, the Marauders' expectations. Grilled meat marinated with a dark, juicy sauce, fruits gathered in elegant plates, flavored bread smells filling the air and many more plates that seemed endless to everyone in the room.

James had started eating the moment they sat at the table, not being able to contain his hunger for a second longer. It was the first time the meal was served before Dumbledore's welcoming taking place but the students didn't mind at all, seeing they were keeping their stomachs empty for this rich dinner. Peter had followed after James, the two of them resembling two trolls digging into food they hadn't seen for days.

Remus' calm expression turned into one full of disgust, "Maybe that's why Lily doesn't bother with you - and why you are only approachable to trolls."

Both boys glanced at Remus before resuming to devouring whatever came their way. The brown-haired boy sighed in defeat and put in his plate a little of everything, even though he felt the need to eat whatever came in sight. He was truly exhausted from the Prefects' meeting, yet he was full of amusement to the point he'd smile at random times.

"So . . . " James started, gulping down his last chunk of olive-flavored bread. "How was the meeting, Mr. Prefect?"

"It was just as I expected it. Outstanding, snobbish members, a variety of duties; yet I feel like this is the best thing that has ever happened to me." Remus breathed in happily and took a spoonful of soup in his mouth. "I even made new acquaintances."

Sirius snorted, "Who, Fabian Prewett, whose nose is bigger than his future?"

Remus elbowed his friend and he stuck his tongue out to him for payback. "No? The ones I met and actually liked to talk to were Edgar Bones and Pandora Lovegood - "

"What in Merlin's scrawny teeth did you do?!" nearly cried out James, furrowing his eyebrows upon hearing the name of the annoying girl from the train. "You know she insulted us, right?"

Remus sighed, feeling the glares of his friends burning his whole presence, "Yes, but . . . She actually seemed nice, less crazy than you described her to me and . . . Oh, just don't interfere with my job."

Peter clicked his tongue with a desperate look on his face, "You befriended the enemy!"

Remus groaned and simply continued eating his food, ignoring the glares of his companions. Soon enough, the boys seized down and focused back on their food or . . . the girls.

A girl with a heart-shaped face and wavy brown hair waved at Sirius from the other side of the table, a meter down from where he was sitting and he waved back, leaning forward on the table to have a better view of her. James, quick to notice the small invisible talk, looked at his friend with widened eyes, his glasses making their size look even more ridiculous.

"No shit. Alisa Northway?"

Sirius nodded to her and settled back down, keeping his eyes on her still, "Oh yes, my friend. Seems like I've got some business to settle after the meal."

Remus clicked his tongue in annoyance and let his fork down on his plate, "Seriously? Not even a day here and you'll already go and push a girl against a wall? Glad I won't be the bloody corridor inspector this night."

Sirius turned his eyes towards his friend, raising an eyebrow in curiosity, "Did a bee sting your penis today, Moony? Because you've been more moody than the Slytherin girls on their period."

"Whatever," he mumbled, propping his chin on his palm. "Do whatever your penis tells you to do."

"Why thank you!"

James could quite feel the tension between his two friends electrifying the atmosphere, some students who sat close to them looking discreetly towards their side. Truth was that no one dared to talk to them, except if they had the courage to do so or knew them as many years as they knew each other. The fact that they were nearly untouchable boosted even shy Peter's confidence, making him nearly _thrilled_  to have that much power. As much power a student in Hogwarts could possess, at least.

James turned his head to sneak a glance from the Slytherin table; just as he had thought, the usual "gang" was staring at them. Avery, one of the most infamous students because of his sadistic behavior, was staring intensively at them with an ominous smirk plastered on his face. Besides him, his friend Severus Snape, the Marauders' toy whenever they felt like it, was glancing at them with his passive face which hid hatred for them. And of course, Sirius'  _much adored_  family, Belatrix and Regulus Black; Evan Rosier, the supposed-to-be Black who reached the Black's insanity level; and Wilkes, a nasty spawn who tried to imitate his peers.

The boy simply turned his attention back on his plate, suddenly not in the mood of eating anything else. Peeking at Sirius, he noticed that the boy had obviously noticed the intense and intimidating stares of the unpleasant company. His expression was blunt but James was smart enough to see through him, worry and anger mixed together. He wasn't a fool; he knew that his friend was far more concerned about matters that he had not dared to bring up and the weight of these matters was making him act out of his mind and on impulse.

And on that moment, James Potter swore to himself - he would not let any harm to be done to his friends.


	2. Doro

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for checking out this fan fiction, it really does mean a lot to me. You can leave your opinion down in the comments or click the 'kudos' button; I hope you like it!

"My name is Regulus and I'm colder than James Potter's ass during Flying class!"

"Pardon me, I'm Severus the snake and I feel the need to slither my tiny wand in a girl's panties, shee shee shee!"

"Will you guys just stop it?! I have some serious studying to do and you two screaming nonsense in my ears doesn't bloody help!"

Remus had reached his breaking point. With his monthly problem having ended two days ago, his senses were more sensitive than ever. He ate like an animal, he could smell Peter eating a piece of pumpkin pie he was always well-hiding, he could hear a rustle of the leaves outside on a loud night in the dormitories . . . But then again, who could stand two of the loudest Gryffindor's practically screaming their lungs out besides you.

Sirius jumped down from his bed where he was interpreting Severus Snape by using an augmentation charm on his nose and dumping his robe over his head. He squeezed Remus' shoulder and peeked at what he was studying, "Quite frustrated, ey?"

The brown-haired boy sighed lowly, "My hormones are having a party inside me; I got anxious for my O.W.L.s which are in seven months from now, for Merlin's sake."

"Then, do you want me to . . . fuck the anxious out of you?" Sirius suggested as he humped Remus' arm, thing which made Remus scowl and use Aquamenti to wash away his friend, earning a yelp from him the moment he came in contact with water.

James cackled uncontrollably, falling back on his bed from the intensity. Peter remained quiet for the whole time as he was too focused organizing his books accordingly to his daily program.

Remus scowled for once more, this time directing it to James, "You won't be laughing like this when you realize you're unprepared for your exams."

The boy with the glasses whistled in amusement, "Your furry hormones haven't acted up like this before."

Remus gave him a warning glare at the mention of his problem to which James replied to by putting his hands in front of him defensively, a silent promise he would not mention this out-loud again.

A condoning silence fell among the company, only the rustling of Remus' writing on his notebooks and Sirius scrubbing his wet hair breaking it. The loud booming of the Hogwarts' clock which rang eleven times dissolved the calmness as Peter scurried some of his books in his arms and stood up.

"We have a Defense Against the Dark Arts class right now - are you coming, Padfoot?"

"Yeah, give me a minute to dry my hair  _someone_ ," he threw his towel on Remus' head, "decided to pee on."

Remus simply rolled his eyes and focused back on his notes after removing the towel from his head. He needed to be focused and he wanted no one, not even Sirius for that matter, to distract him from his hard work.

Sirius put on properly his robe and grabbed his books, Peter and him leaving behind them a daydreaming Potter and a pissed Lupin.

  ☽ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ☾  

All of their walks together were silent. Covered with a comforting silence, maybe interrupted sometimes by random remarks Sirius brought up to comment on. Peter was thoroughly grateful, for he was more comfortable with walking with his friends like this. It was their form of communication, a unique one, and the boy was content because of this. Little to no people understood how he functioned and what his comfort zones were; that was why the three Gryffindor boys were the persons he cherished the most and were classified as his best friends.

However, this time was different, as Peter Pettigrew was eager to open a certain conversation with the Black sprout. 

"So we never learnt who that mysterious letter person was."

Sirius cast an amused glance on his friend, "Was too tired to travel across the whole castle to get to see an unknown person."

"Yet at eleven in the morning, we both were exiting the Herbology class," Peter remarked, making Sirius stare at him more intensively. The boy raised his free hand in front of him defensively - a familiar gesture he had adopted from James -, "I'm just saying, if they had such an interest in you, they'd have probably called your name when they saw you."

The taller boy nodded and patted his friend's back, "You're right Wormtail. Anyhow, you never really told me what happened after your trip to Ireland this summer."

Peter's eyes lit up, "I was, well, gifted some things by my parents when we returned back to London. You should've seen them, Pads, they were just so . . . green and beautiful." The boy was feeling bubbly on the inside and Sirius could clearly see it on his face as he talked. "They know I like creating herb patches a-and herb mixes so they bought me Irish plant seeds and a Dittany and you can't find something like this in London and . . . Oh, Merlin, I'm just so excited to grow them."

"Peter Pettigrew and Nature: a possible love story," quoted Sirius, causing the brown-haired boy to blush darkly and hide his face behind his hands.

Sirius chuckled and gave him a one-sided hug by wrapping his right arm around his shoulders and pressing him against him, "I swear you can become the best medical wizard in the future. Oh, and don't call me 'Pads', I'm not a diaper in a girl's panties."

"Isn't this where you usually go, though?" he inquired, his previous embarrassment disappearing as quickly as it came.

"Oh." Sirius simply chuckled and patted his friend's arm as he advanced for their class.

Peter was left staring at his friend, furrowing his eyebrows in curiosity. 'He didn't deny it, though,' he thought before quickening his step to catch up to his friend.

  ☽ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ☾  

Missing lessons was the luckiest thing that had occurred to Remus on that day, despite him being an excellent student in general. An  _academically_  excellent student with a troublesome behavior, two things that had been a deathly duo for the wizarding world a few decades earlier.

Remus was sitting on the round table of the Prefects with the rest of the members, waiting for their respected house heads of the Prefect body to explain to them the reason why they were summoned there. He was more than nervous since his sharp mind was telling him that this was about his duties as a prefect. Luckily enough, the presence of Frank Longbottom and Pandora Lovegood besides him, as well as Edgar Bones' across him was toning him down, reminding him that he wasn't alone in this grand room full of well-mannered, intelligent, rich and intimidating students. Indeed, he felt out of place, but it was most certain that he fitted right in since he was chosen to be one of them.

Fabian Prewett - the Prefect representing Gryffindor and one of the most posh persons in Hogwarts, according to James - stood at the head of the table together with the other three house representatives. One of his usual smiles was plastered on his face and Remus couldn't help but mentally scowl at how pretentious it was, reminding him Lucius Malfoy's pretentious behavior which hid nothing but ominous purposes behind it.

"Before the announcement of the purpose of this meeting, we would like to welcome our new members to the Prefect student body," he started, gesturing to the new members to stand up. 

Remus, Frank, an ambiguous Hufflepuff in the same year as Remus, and Emmeline Vance, a graduating student from Ravenclaw, stood up, soon to be applauded by their fellow prefect-mates. Once they settled down, all eyes were focused on the four leaders of the Prefects whose stance was as hard as a rock.

"We have called all of you today to be present in the first Prefect meeting we hold every year at the beginning of the semester," the Slytherin representative continued, her sly dark eyes staring at the new faces. "As you know, meetings aren't often held if there isn't a serious matter that needs to be discussed. Each time a meeting is to be held, you will be personally informed by your house prefect."

"Also, today is the day each of you will be assigned to your respected duties. Please, read well your personal program and if you have any questions, make sure to pose them at the end of the meeting," the Ravenclaw girl finished as the Hufflepuff representative started sharing each person's program with his wand.

Remus' eyes were glued on his program even before it was delivered in his hands. It wasn't hectic and surely not what he expected.

 __Mondays  - Morning dormitory patrol with Edgar Bones  
Tuesdays - Inspection of the potion closet  
Wednesdays - Free day  
Thursdays - Free day  
Fridays - Night dormitory patrol with Pandora Lovegood

He glanced across the table and noticed Edgar smiling reassuringly to him, a gesture Remus returned. Feeling a nudge to his side, none other than Pandora gifted him a slight rise of her lips and formed with her mouth the word 'partner'. The boy nudged her back with his knee and nodded, a warm feeling spreading on his chest. He was more than relieved to be paired up with persons he had started feeling comfortable with - he wondered if that was the meaning of the first "welcoming" meeting the Prefects had held.

Soon, the Prefect meeting had come to an end and the students started departing for their classes. Remus was eager not to miss his Potions class (which was directed by one of his favorite teachers, Slughorn, despite being a Slytherin), yet he stayed behind to greet his two newfound partners.

Edgar gave a strong pat on Remus' back, making the boy nearly fall forward. Compared to the rest of the Hufflepuffs, he was much bigger, taller and gentle. His blue eyes fell calmly on the shorter -compared to him- boy, "Hope we'll get along in our patrols, Lupin. See you next Monday."

Remus nodded and waved reluctantly to him as he left, "See you, Edgar."

"Well, well, well," a voice coming behind Remus startled him and he hardly held back in his throat an upcoming screech. The girl chuckled silently at his wary reaction and started walking besides him, "It's pleasant to know that I'm paired with you for night patrols."

Remus fixed a strand of hair which had fallen in his eye and quirked his eyebrow, "How so?"

Pandora stared at him intensively, as if he had asked something wrong, and awkwardness was draped over him.

"I mean, my friends didn't quite . . . treat you well in your first meeting with them."

She shrugged. "Same with everyone else in this school. Well, except from you, Alice and Frank. You're compatible persons to be around."

He didn't comment on the 'compatible' characterization, seeing that he was the most  _non_ -compatible person among his friends. James was quite the bother to be around, since he was annoying but he got along well with new persons due to him being a social butterfly. Sirius was the well-known dark beauty of the school and almost everyone liked him; or at least, the outer part of him. Peter was timid and dorky, what someone could call a gentle giant without the 'giant' part. And lastly, Remus was . . . Remus. An excellent student, not that social due to him being scared of being misjudged or humiliated and looked snobby even though he wasn't the slightest. Sarcasm, though, was a natural trait that he would never let go.

"I mean it." Pandora glanced at him, as if she had sensed his denial about him being compatible.

Remus cleared his throat and quickened his step, looking one last time at the blonde girl, "I'll see you around."

Thus, Pandora was left on her own and she soon took a turn for her Charms class. Smiling unconsciously to herself, she noted something down her small notebook and continued on her path.

  ☽ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ☾ 

It was after the sunset when the Marauders' group got back together in dinner.  They all looked equally exhausted except from Peter, who ate happily as he daydreamed about his plants that needed to be planted and watered as soon as they would get back in their dorm. On the contrary, Remus was daydreaming about falling in his bed and waking up in two days.

"You wouldn't believe in your ears but I got Lily to talk to me today," James suddenly announced when he finished eating his macaroni cheese plate. A prideful smile was plastered on his face as the others stared at him with pure surprise written on theirs. 

"Why, to tell you to stop following her around or else she'll give you a restraining order?" Remus mused, earning a laugh from Sirius.

James raised his eyebrows, "What is a restraining order?"

The boy smacked his forehead and sighed in exhaustion, "Bloody posh wizard kids, not even knowing the basic Muggle words and terms."

James waved to his friend dismissively, "Whatever. She actually asked me if she could copy from my notes in Transfiguration class and - oooh, the way she writes. Her curly letters reminded me of the way her hair curls in the ends-"

"Oh, for Merlin's sake, Prongs, that sappy romantic talk makes me want to throw up what I just ate," Remus groaned, sitting back on his seat with a disgusted look on his face.

"Why don't you just become a poet, James?" Sirius suggested, propping his arms on the table. "Maybe you'd manage to bend her over that way."

A strange light flashed in James' eyes and he immediately stood up, nearly hugging the life out of his friend when he lunged for him. Sirius' panic could clearly be seen in his eyes as he was practically asphyxiated in a hug.

"I'm going to write the best poem of the wizarding world and give it to Lily," he stated as he pulled back from the hug. "Thank you guys!"

And in a whiff, he had made a run for the Gryffindor dormitories, leaving three stunned Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs from the next table staring at his departing figure. The three remaining Marauders looked at each other with amusement drawn on their faces as they erupted into heaps of laughter.

"James the Poet-er!" Sirius exclaimed, feeling tears brimming in the edges of his eyes. The idea of James writing poems was simply extraordinary and ridiculous to the boys, taking into account that he was smart, yet his charms included noisiness, awkward stammering and prank ideas.

Wiping away his tears and after all of them settled down because of McGonagall's ominous stare, Sirius shoved a garlic roll in his mouth before standing up.

"I got some business to take care of you, see you blokes later," he hurriedly said before taking his leave.

Peter stared at him with a playful glint in his eyes, knowing what he was up to, but didn't comment on it. After their Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson, Alisa Northway had neared them and had a small conversation with Sirius; from the looks of it and Alisa's giggles, the first night's event was bound to be repeated.

"Guess that leaves the two of us," Remus muttered, sighing quietly and letting his spoon fall in his half-empty plate.

Peter shifted in his seat, "Want to go and grab some Silverweed?"

"Sure."

  ☽ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ☾ 

Sirius Black knew well his way through the castle, the hours the Prefects were patrolling and how to get through the Fat Lady's snobbish glare without her yelling and waking up half the school. That is how, around midnight, he managed to close quietly the dorm room's door and stride towards his bed, under which James was snoring loudly with pieces of paper scattered around his figure.

"A little late, don't ya think?"

The hushed voice caused Sirius to tense up and he looked towards the direction of the voice's source. A messy-haired Remus with half-lidded eyes was sitting on his bed with his legs crossed, a crooked smile decorating his chapped lips.

The dark-haired boy exhaled gleefully, kicking off his shoes and throwing his robe on his bed, "You scared the living shit out of me."

"Mhm."

Once Sirius had put on a Sex Pistols shirt and had abandoned his pants on the floor, he sat besides Remus on the male's bed. "Can't sleep without me?" he asked in a teasing tone, raising his eyebrows in the process.

"Mhm," Remus grumbled again, sliding down on his back after letting a yawn escape his lips.

Sirius leaned over Remus and looked carefully in his eyes, his own widening. "You're baked," he mused, letting a tiny laugh escape his lips.

"Whatever, Padfoot, just be my bloody pillow so I can sleep," the boy whined, wrapping his arms around his friend's waist and burying his face in his shirt. "Where were you, anyways? Let me guess, snogging?"

"Ah, I . . ." he trailed off, his hand instinctively landing on Remus' head and petting it softly. "It shouldn't really matter, right?"

"It does to me." Remus raised his eyes and stared up at the Black, his eyes narrowing slightly. "You're my best friend, yet you never really tell me what's going on in your life."

"Because nothing goes on."

Remus opened his mouth to say something but his words were covered by a yawn. Sirius slid down on the same level as Remus and let the taller male wrap his arms around his abdomen as he pulled the blanket over them. He ran his hand through the mop of brown hair before letting him fall in a restless slumber.

Ever since Remus had discovered that Sirius had terrible nightmares he never spoke of and made him wake up several times through the night, he had promised that he would make him fall asleep no matter what. And so did he. Every night they spent together in Hogwarts, the two boys were sleeping in the same bed; Remus calming down Sirius whenever he would wake up covered in sweat and on the brink of a breakdown, only to be soothed down by his friend. However, lately, Remus had started sleeping before him, and Sirius always ended up staring at the bed above him before sleep would come and lull him away. But he didn't mind it - at all.

The sleeping boy shifted in his sleep, his face ending up in Sirius' neck crook. His breath tingled the male and he tried to restrain himself from pushing him off. Staring down at his face, he noticed his silver scars glimmering under the pale moonlight, making him look like an innocent angel with too many stories to tell.

 'I guess I've been a little unfair towards him lately,' he voiced internally, closing his eyes briefly. Truth was that he had been keeping his personal life away from his friends' attention and everything was eating him up from the inside. However, he couldn't gather up the courage to confess to them such things,  _atrocities_ , which had occurred in his life within the summer. 'Just a little while before I tell them.'

Before falling asleep, he smirked at the remembrance of his recent finding. Because for the three hours he was missing, he was "snogging" with some books from the library and had unearthed who that mysterious Anesi Doro was.


	3. Breathe

The first thing Sirius saw when he woke up was the starry night sky. Blinking twice, he removed the charm from the ceiling with a wave of his wand and the sky dispersed into a thin mist, revealing the ceiling again. He stretched his whole body lazily, and sat up on his bed. In his area of vision, he caught sight of Remus still sleeping on the bed across his and under. Each night, when Remus would be in deep sleep, he would go back on his own bed and sleep there for a few hours, not wanting to wake up the tired male with his constant squirming.

It wasn't long before he jumped down, feet coming in contact with the cold pavement. His grey eyes looked like a dead man's - void of any emotion, any thoughts, anything. Yet his mind was full, a never-ending nightmare of thoughts that pressed on him, over and over again, until his skull would hurt and all the memories he had locked in the most untouched corners of his mind would come to the surface. And then the voices would scream.

_Confringo. Incarcerous. **Crucio.**_

He hadn't realized he was staring at the pavement, frozen, until a voice woke him up from his torturous daydream. 

"Up so early, mate?"

Sirius snapped his eyes towards the voice, only to see the one and only James Potter sitting on the open window. He walked over and motioned to him to scoot over, finally taking a seat besides him. He hadn't realized what time it was until he glanced at the hazy horizon from where the sun had started peeking. 

"I have lost track of my sleep lately. How about you, though?" He looked at his four-eyed friend, nudging him lightly when he looked away. "Hope it's not about your love poem."

James simply grinned sleepily and took a crumbled piece of paper out of his pajama pants' pocket, handing it over. Sirius was about to start mocking the male about his shit poetry but after finishing reading it, he was left bedazzled, with no words to say.

"Prongs, mate . . . Since when are you so talented at writing? Hell; give this poem to me and I'm all yours."

James chuckled awkwardly, taking back the paper, "Guess I am from, like . . . now. Maybe it's nature. Maybe it's my seeing Lily again. Maybe it's magic."

Sirius deadpanned, "You used magic to write this, didn't you?"

"No!"

The two remained silent and gazed at the rising sun, the clouds hanging over them obscuring his light - and maybe that was what made the scenery beautiful and hard not to look at.

Finally, it was James who spoke up.

"Okay, tell me what is going on."

When Sirius shot him a questioning look, he sighed, "Sirius Black never misses his beauty sleep. What happened during the summer that made you so distant and worrisome?"

Sirius' muscles tensed up; James could be quite the doofus some times but his mind was sharper than McGonagall's death glare. It had always proved useful but at that moment, he resented that charm of his friend because there were few times when some things should go by unnoticed and unsaid. 

"I don't want to talk about it," he confessed, seeing that there was no point in trying to hide behind his finger for something his friends would notice sooner or later.

"Does it have to do with your parents? Regulus?"

Sirius felt bile rising up in his throat and he swallowed hard. Feeling nauseous, he glanced back at the spot where Remus was still sleeping peacefully. James, following his eyes, glanced at Remus and then back at his best friend.

"Sexuality?"

Sirius snapped his head towards the four-eyed boy, eyes widening in surprise, "No?"

"C'mon, mate, I know you didn't snog Alisa the other day. or last night. You didn't smell like her when you came back."

"I'm sorry but the werewolf position in the team has already been occupied," Sirius pointed out, shooting a glance at James which screamed "weirdo". "Besides, not snogging isn't making me any less straight."

"Not snogging doesn't make you gay; not snogging Alisa Northway makes you gay."

The blunt look on Sirius face made James smile triumphantly and pat his back, "Just kidding, Padfoot. But if anything's up, just come and tell me, a'right? I'm your best mate."

The black-haired male nodded and patted him back, just before James released a beastly yawn. He jumped back in the room and waved to his friend before slumping back on his bed. A few moments later, James' steady breath joined the rest of the boys', and the Black heir was left on his own.

Soon, he concluded to the fact that he wasn't going back to sleep any time soon, thus he slid on the small roof under the window ledge, which was barely able to handle three persons. Rummaging through his jacket's pockets, he pulled out a scrapped cigarette pack - so scrapped the brand had smudged off - and pulled out one, immediately taking a drag out of it once it was lit. 

And at that moment, with the fall breeze sweeping swiftly through the pines and his feet dangling from the edge, he realized that taking drags from his cigarette was the closest he had been to breathing these past months. That thought by itself brought tears in his eyes, yet he made no attempt to wipe them away because  _that_ , that was the only indication he was still alive, and that was enough for him. 

Three hours had passed and six finished cigarettes had danced on the wind before marvelously falling off the tower and the only sounds Sirius was constantly hearing were the sleeping boys' breathing and the animals' faraway voices calling out to each other. He wouldn't have noticed Amos Diggory if the boy hadn't poked his shoulder.

"Mate, would you mind closing the window? It's freezing over here."

Sirius reluctantly strode back inside the dorm and sealed the window behind him with a wave of his wand. His ears hurt from the cold autumn breeze he was exposed to all these hours and he cupped them, rubbing them to get warmed up.

Amos stared at the silent boy curiously before flinging his towel over his shoulder and exiting the room with the bathrooms as his destination.

'Rat,' Sirius thought to himself and scowled. He never thought highly of Amos, seeing that the boy was so flirtatious he would hunt down every single girl in Hogwarts just to get laid or snogged. He used to do that too but he was at least kind enough not to portray fake emotions in order to get a girl and then dump her one week later, just like Amos was constantly doing.

Sirius changed into his usual school clothes and draped his Gryffindor robe over him, only then realizing how cold he had become from standing out of the window for hours. Giving a last glance at his still-asleep friends, he exited the boys' dorm and descended the stairs which led to the Common Room of their house. He didn't expect to see it empty, moreover a tiny girl hurled on the side of one of the couches with her head pressed against her knees. 

Nearing the girl cautiously - who, for some reason, was peculiarly small -, he heard her muffled sobs and sniffing of her nose. When he was only but a foot away from her, she snapped up her head and stared at him with her bloodshot, almost lavender-looking eyes.

"What do you want?"

He was taken aback from the harshness of her voice, which he presumed had turned into one because someone had teased her, "I saw you crying alone and well, I'm not the kind of guy who will ignore a maiden in distress, am I?"

The girl snorted despite her obvious sadness and pushed back a strand of her white hair that was stuck on her tear-stained cheeks, "Posh as always, Black."

At that moment, Sirius recognized her as the girl who was always hanging out with Lily and her company - Mary, was it? - and was two years younger than him. She looked completely different when she was in shambles, thus his confusion about her identity.

"Well, it's none of your business."

Something in his mind instantly clicked, "It was those Slytherins again, wasn't it?"

Mary's body stiffened and she looked as if she was about to cry again.

"I'll take this as a yes," he assumed, taking a seat on the couch. "What are their names?"

"Why should I tell you?" she snapped, pressing her lips into a thin line. 

Sirius looked at her, his royal grey eyes boring into her light grey-ish - or was it blue? - ones. "You're not the only one who has small . . . disagreements with the Slytherin kids, as you may already know."

Mary stared at the boy for a little before biting her bottom lip and looking at the fire burning in the old fireplace, "It was Avery and Wilkes. And your cousin, Bellatrix. They wouldn't stop teasing me for my hair and they enchanted them in so many colors at once a-and . . .", she teared up again and held back a sob, "Lily happened to be there and she tried to fight them off. But your cousin hexed her and there was so much . . .  Oh, Merlin, I could do nothing and now Lily's in the infirmary because of me. It's all my fault, isn't-"

Mary's rambling was cut off as Sirius patted softly her head and winked, "Say no more. This one looks like a job for the Marauders."

"Don't think so highly of yourselves," she sneered, sweeping off his hand and wiping off the last of her tears. "Besides, I didn't ask for your help."

Sirius simply grinned and stood up, heading back to the boys' dorms without another word. A mischievous smirk was plastered on his face and millions of thoughts were running through his wicked, Black mind.

Revenge was sweet, yet sweeter when the ones about to be pranked were his  _beloved_  cousin and her friends. And maybe they could pay a part of the price of the events that had taken place during that hellish summer.

   ☽ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ☾  

"That is actually a fantastic idea!"

A couple of students turned to look tiredly at James who, despite not being a morning person, was filled with energy and had nearly jumped out of his seat. Peter had to pull the boy back down before he could create a scene all by himself.

Remus scrunched up his nose - both at the idea and the nasty smell of boiled eggs on Peter's plate -, "I think this is an  _awful_  idea and I'm surely not condoning this."

"Becoming a prefect isn't also making you our mom, Moony," Sirius pointed out. "Besides, you're too much of a whim to join us and you'll surely queer our pitch."

"Sirius Orion Black, take that back before I hex you," the brown-haired male warned, casting a death glare on his friend.

Sirius simply smiled cheekily and winked, "A Black never goes back on their word unless it's been proven otherwise."

"Oh? I thought you resented the Black family."

"Family can leave and disappear but manners and ideals never do."

Remus clicked his tongue, sighing in defeat after, "Fine. You win, Black. For this one."

The black-haired boy blew a kiss to his friend from across the table just as the werewolf cursed him for being posh. James rolled his eyes at the common and sarcastic conversation between the two Gryffindors and slammed his hands on the table, attracting once more the attention of his company.

" _No one_  can back out from the plan. This is the first prank of the year and all of us need to contribute if we want to keep our fame. And that includes you too, Moony, you bloody traitor!" Remus simply rolled his eyes for the umpteenth time since he had woken up and drank the last bits of his juice.

"But for the plan to function, we need a girl too," Peter piped up. "There is no way in Godric's name I'm the one to do it to Bellatrix. I want to avoid being hexed this year, thank you."

James groaned and slammed his head on the table, causing some plates to rattle.

"That's why Lily won't date you, blockhead!" Marlene McKinnon shouted from a few seats further, making James gasp audibly and Mary chuckle besides her.

Sirius exchanged a silent glance with Mary before turning his attention back on his food. Of course, Remus didn't miss that exchange but decided not to comment on it.

"Oh, by the way, mate," Sirius turned to James, who was shoving a piece of chocolate cake in his mouth. "Your ginger girl is in the infirmary."

James' movements were paused and his eyes started widening as he slowly registered that piece of information. Peter clasped his hand on his shocked friend's arm, wariness plastered on his face.

"Now, mate, don't make any rush decisions. We will all go-"

Just as he was trying to calm him down, James shot up from his seat and rushed to get out of the Great Hall. He would have succeeded if it wasn't for Remus casting a binding spell on him by whispering "Petrificus Totalus".

And that was how thirty minutes later, the Marauders with a frozen James were standing outside of the infirmary, trying to persuade Madame Pomfrey to let them visit Lily.

"I'm telling you, boys, Miss Evans already has a visitor and I'm surely not letting you rascals disturb my patients."

"We just want to see if she's okay!" Remus explained for the umpteenth time, getting desperate after seeing that the chances of them going in were below zero.

"I'm sor-"

"Lily!"

The frozen James magically moved - more like, lunged - and in a whiff, he was past a dumbfounded Madame Pomfrey and into the ward. Remus and Peter exchanged stunned stares before turning to Sirius, whose mischievous smirk was hard to contain.

"What? My wand slipped."

"You're a bloody Slytherin, I swear the Sorting Hat was enchanted that time!"

James had rushed as fast as he could into the magically expanded room, immediately spotting Lily's ginger mess sprawled on a bed two feet away from him. He grew discontent when he noticed a certain male with greasy black hair sitting in a chair besides the bed. The boy shot James a sharp glare, yet his stance stiffened.

"Potter."

"Potter?"

"Have the guts to finally say my name? Of all the people in the whole world, I least expected  _you_ to be here, Snivellus. Especially after your friends hurt Lily." James' voice dripped poison; the Black boy had described to them the scene that took place that morning with Mary Macdonald and the more he talked, the angrier James grew for the actions of Avery, Wilkes and Bellatrix.

Lily didn't miss his sharp tone. "Don't meddle with my life, Potter. What happened is Avery's and  _Sirius'_  cousin's fault, not Severus'," she spat, her green eyes narrowing at the sight of the messy-haired male. "Besides, I didn't ask you to come here and stand up for me, I can do it very well on my own, thank you."

"But I came here to check up on you."

At that moment, the rest of the Marauders slowly made their way into the infirmary with a defeated Madame Pomfrey behind them who kept muttering under her breath how troublesome these boys were. However, James paid no attention to them as he didn't fail to notice the faint reddening of Lily's cheeks and how she attempted to hide it by pouting slightly, sneering and touching her bandaged arm.

"Whatever, Potter. Don't you have some classes to attend?"

James was about to reply but he found himself floating on the air. He managed to block a yelp in his throat, but the case wasn't the same with Remus who screeched in surprise.

"You're lucky I'm not apparating you into the Headmaster's office!" were the last words of Madame Pomfrey before she led the floating quartet out of the infirmary and released the levitation charm on them once the door was sealed.

Sirius let out a cry from his harsh landing and the boys stood up, dusting off their pants. Peter quirked an eyebrow when he noticed James' face which held a toothy smile and a bright expression.

"She blushed."

Sirius snorted and threw his head back in dismay, his long black locks airily following the motion of his head, "It was probably from when she yelled at you, Prongs, don't get your hopes up."

However, James paid no attention to his friend as he waltzed down the hallway, happily skipping and earning more than two weird glances his way. Peter sighed softly -  and contently, glad to see his friend in a good mood - and followed James down the corridor.

"What class, Moony?" Sirius asked, draping his arm over Remus' shoulders.

Remus' face heated up and he averted his gaze back on his books, puzzled as for his reaction, "Eh, Care of Magical Creatures." He didn't miss the way Sirius' elegant dark hair smelled of smoke and how his breathing seemed irregular, as if it was filled with anxiety, yet for once more did he avoid asking him about it. He knew better than anyone that things had to take their time before being revealed.

None of them exchanged any words as Sirius dragged Remus by his hand towards their class.

  ☽ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ☾ 

Remus glanced one last time at the spell in the book and stared at his robe pocket with determination. He tapped it with his wand and whispered the spell, with no apparent changes being visible. He shoved his hand in it and was satisfied when he figured out that he could slide it in as a whole. Thus he dropped his books in his expanded pocket, with the magically unlimited space not weighing him down.

'Magic really is great,' he thought to himself and started taking the path for the broom closet. Dinner had ended an hour ago and he was to carry out his Friday night patrol with Pandora, with whom he had agreed to meet in front of the broom closet. He was more relaxed at that time and he walked proudly with his prefect badge around his arm.

Indeed, Pandora was waiting for him in front of the closet with a crimson book in her hands. Once she noticed him, she shut the book and shoved it in her pocket, making Remus wonder if she had used an expansion charm on her pocket too or if the Ravenclaw robes had bigger pockets for their books to fit in.

"Remus."

The tall male was more than glad to be greeted with such familiarity and he simply nodded, "Hey, Pandora."

"Let's go."

Remus followed the girl and was soon walking besides her, both of them inspecting the place. He tried to observe how she acted, as he had discovered that mere morning that she was a prefect for two years in a row. It would surely benefit him, seeing that he could perfect the way he would be carrying out his duties.

The two of them passed through the empty halls of Gryffindor and waited for the stairs to change their route in order to move onto the Ravenclaw grounds. It was awfully quiet and Remus really did hope that it would remain like this; he hated punishing students for trespassing the halls at night, seeing that he had done that multiple times under the lazy eyes of the prefects.

"Let's stop here," Pandora suddenly piped up and they came to a halt in front of a wall empty of any portraits, just before the Slytherin dormitories. She turned to him and tapped her hand on the wall three times, "I want to show you something."

" _Dissendium_."

All of sudden, the bricks of the wall started parting, dust falling on the polished ground. The bricks stopped moving when there was a hole formed, big enough for one person to go through. Remus was frozen on his position but not for long, as Pandora tugged down his sleeve.

"Lumos."

The light emitting from her wand showed them the way - a staircase leading to Merlin-knows-where. The boy was reluctant to follow his newfound friend in this mysterious and completely alien to him passage, but the calm expression on Pandora's face pushed him to follow her. There was no harm in exploring, after all.

The two moved up for what seemed like hours, even though it was a few minutes, and stopped only when they felt the cold autumn air brushing against them. Pandora got out first and Remus followed suit, inspecting carefully his surroundings as he walked on the last steps.

He could see everything. The dark horizon which held the moon, hiding behind dark clouds. The pine forests protecting the vast grounds of the castle. The obscure waters of the lake which trapped the moonshines on its surface. The air hit his face to the point his eyes welled up with tears but he didn't stop staring, because  _how could_  someone tear their eyes off this beauty?

"How . . . Where is this?"

"Just a secret tower," Pandora answered simply, standing still besides the boy.

" _Just_?" he laughed, wiping the stray tears from his eyes. He peacefully gazed at the lake and took a deep breath of fresh air.  _Breathe_.

"How did you find this place and . . . and why did you bring me up here?"

"Well, strolling the castle around for four years in a row made me find the room. Or rather, for the room to find me." When she noticed the puzzled look on his face, she took in a deep inhale. "This is a 'come and go' room, a room which appears only when you are in need of it. And I was . . . alone. The room came to me last year and put my loneliness someplace more comfortable."

Remus tried to hide his sad expression by looking away. He couldn't help but feel guilty that she was on her own all these years. He couldn't imagine what his school years would have been like if it wasn't for his friends. They  _did_  annoy him at times but he still loved the hell out of them. They knew him from the inside out and they still remained by his side for all these years -  these are the kind of friends he wished for everyone to have.

"This place became my heaven. And I decided to bring here the person I love, to share my heaven with them."

The boy stared for a bit at nothing before snapping his head towards her, crimson slowly seeping in his cheeks and his mouth hang wide open with no words to say.

Pandora glanced questionably at him before realizing what he had understood. "Oh no, don't misunderstand me. I don't like you, or love you, in that way for that matter. In fact, I'm not attracted to anyone, generally. I simply wanted to show this place to you so you can escape from reality some times . . . Maybe bring  _that_  person of yours here."

Remus exhaled gratefully, "Thank Merlin. I don't know how I would be able to handle anyone having a crush on me."

"Why, can the person you like handle  _your_  crush?" she mused teasingly, the dimples of her cheeks deepening from grinning.

Remus scoffed, "He doesn't even know I like hi- Oh, crap."

He clasped his hands over his mouth and glanced worriedly at her, a mix of fear and embarrassment swimming in the back of his eyes.

Pandora chuckled, "Him, it is, then. Intriguing." She looked at him with a reassuring expression on her face. "I won't tell anyone, I promise. I think you should tell him, though, because it seems our time is limited nowadays. You never know if the next day will be your last."

Remus' heartbeats slowed down and he exhaled for once more in relief, having to sit down from the sudden nausea that had gotten into him. He had never talked about this to anyone or voiced it out loud because he knew. He knew that these were the 70's and being attracted to your own gender was unfathomable. He knew that discrimination was around every corner from strangers, his peers, his friends, his family. He, Remus John Lupin, was gay, and not even he could master up the courage to admit it to himself. 

"Took me a while to find you two."

The two turned their heads towards the source of the voice. Behind them stood none other than Sirius Black, whose smirk at that moment was bigger than his ego. Remus' heart leaped once more and all the blood was drained from his face, thinking  _what if Sirius had listened to his conversation with Pandora_. 

"I must admit that I didn't expect to find you gazing at the universe like couples do in Muggle movies," he suggested, grinning slyly at his friend. 

"For your information and only, Sirius, there's a bigger chance of me going out with all the girls you have dated through the years than for Remus and me to be a couple."

He chuckled. "I'm sure of it,  _Anesi Doro_."

Pandora's expression turned into a surprised one and she ended up grinning slightly, her blue eyes fixated on the shorter male, "So you managed to catch me. You're not as dumb as I thought you'd be."

"Hold your horses," Remus piped up, standing up and between the two persons. He looked at Pandora with confusion, "You are the one who sent Sirius that note?"

"Why yes."

Sirius cleared his throat, "Whatever you wanted me for must wait. Because you, Pandora Lunatic Lovegood, are going to participate in our first prank of the year. Lucky you, to be a part of our plans!"

The blonde snorted, crossing her arms at his abrupt sentence and his obnoxious face, "And how is that going to happen?"

"With luck and pixie dust, of course."


	4. Killjoys

"And you really think that this plan will work? No way in Merlin's left buttcheek this is going to work."

It was a particular chilly Sunday afternoon and the Marauders were returning from their short visit to Hogsmeade, their hands holding bags of sweets and booze they had purchased secretly. Alcohol was prohibited in the school grounds, thus they had shoved the three bottles in Remus' magically expanded pockets. At that moment, they were discussing their final plan and were sure that it would be a success; everyone was, except from Remus.

"Rem, Rem, Rem, poor boy, let the men organize a brilliant plan and go play somewhere else," Sirius teased, failing to hide the smirk that had creeped up on his face.

"You're right, Padfoot," Remus replied calmly before falling with force on Sirius and making him fall down on the grass. "Step aside, princess."

Sirius would normally glare at his friend, but at that time he simply stared at him with surprise and horror written across his features. They all glanced at him questionably and stopped walking, even oblivious James' face clouded with worry. 

Remus scurried quickly to his side and scanned him with his eyes, "Are you okay, Padfoot? Oh Merlin, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you - "

"I'm good, Moony, don't worry," he replied quietly and accepted his hand to help him stand up. His previous surprise was covered up with a playful expression he had mastered, "You all fell for it, didn't you?"

James scoffed and gave him a light punch on the shoulder, "You bloody drama queen!"

"Will you all just finish talking about the stupid plan?!"

James rolled his eyes, "Fine, fine. First . . . "

 

_" . . . come the materials. We have the firewhiskey and we need gunpowder, which will be collected by Remus, of course."_

Darkness was engulfing the corridors, with the exception of spots being lightened up by torches placed on the walls. The room in which Remus stood was covered in a peculiar blue light that was being emitted from everywhere. All kinds and sizes of bottles were surrounding him and he wiped the beads of sweat that had formed on his forehead, checking one of the last materials on the list. 

He was serving his Prefect duty and was checking to see if all of the materials were in place in the potions closet - well,  _almost_.

In the last row, he stopped in front of one of the items he hadn't checked out yet. The label read 'gunpowder' and the number of bottles he had to check after was five. Remus sighed and pulled out his wand, motioning it over the piece of paper he held. He had practiced that self-made spell so many times, he doubted he would fail.

"Eye of rabbit and dragon's heart string, change the words at my own will."

The number of the bottles on the paper was reduced by one and he quickly shoved the now-extra gunpowder bottle in his pocket, looking around just in case someone decided to walk in at that moment. He sighed for once more and tried to suppress his upcoming grin because  _hell_ , in fact, he was enjoying this.

 

_"And let's not forget the Polyjuice potion. We have anything but the leeches, so . . . sorry for this, Wormy, but you have to go into the Forbidden Forest and collect some."_

It must have been the hundredth time Peter had looked behind him with terror written upon his features when a leave would crunch some place behind or a faraway howling of the wind would disrupt the calamity. Truth was that he was scared of even looking at the Forbidden Forest and he was constantly trying to avoid it, whether it would be about a school project or one of his company's pranks. Yet he couldn't deny his task because he was more scared of losing his friends, of losing his second home, than stepping into the scary forest.

Peter stumbled on a fallen branch and nearly fell down, not being able to hold back a yelp. He quickly regained his balance and sighed heavily. He reacted quickly, and did as his mind told him to: he ran. 

He was so blinded by the tears prickling the edges of his eyes from both fear and the air hitting his face as he ran, that he almost didn't notice the swamp and stopped one step before he could fall in it. The force of the abrupt halting caused him to fall back down once more and all he did was stare. 

'Let's get this over with,' Peter thought to himself and crouched besides the swamp, squinting his eyes so he could have a better view of his objective through the muddy water. 

The bulky boy ran his hand through his pocket and found a pouch Remus had given him to put the leeches in - being magically expanded, of course, because the tall boy seemed to be heavily obsessed with this newfound spell lately.

"Accio leech."

Nothing moved besides the rusty leaves falling from the trees and Peter cleared his throat, staring at the polluted waters with determination this time. 

" _Accio leech_."

All at once, four dark, slug-looking creatures rose from the water and flew towards Peter,  _way faster_  than he intended. The boy screeched and waved his wand in the last moment with a spell he very-well knew, learnt from James who constantly used it on his archenemy.

The leeches were paused mid-air, just a hair's breadth away from his face. Peter stared at the disgusting creatures which stood right in front of him and he fell back on his back, thanking luck for being by his side on that day. 

 

_"That's when Miss Absolute-Annoyance comes in the game. She will be the one to take our target's hair. Don't worry, Peter, this year you won't be hexed."_

"Rat!"

The screech of the black-haired girl resounded in the hallway filled with students, making some look at her questionably and then quickly look away upon realizing who it was. Bellatrix Black was looking ominously at a girl, her finger pointed at the girl's face who looked as if she was at the brink of passing out. She glared at her one last time before huffing and elegantly walking away from her, her head held up high.

'Filthy girl trying to ask - who? - me!, a Black, to become her partner! Huh!' she thought to herself and glared at the ceiling of the corridor, knowing that looking down would only bring in her sight the persons who were looking at her and she couldn't bring herself to hex them today - no, she was in a bad mood that day, thus she would show some mercy. However, that caused her to walk right into a person, causing both of them to nearly fall down together. 

Bellatrix was quick enough to use her wand to stand upright, while the other person simply carried on running towards their own way, not even sparing a glance at the girl. The rage that filled the Black girl was so big that if you looked hard enough, you could see the fire burning in her eyes.

"You dirty mudblood!" With a swift motion of her body, Bellatrix turned around and pointed her wand towards the unlucky student, "Entomorphis!"

"Protego!"

The red lightning that was emitted from her wand was dissolved by an invisible shield that was formed between the student and the hex. The common poker face of Emmeline Vance was revealed behind the small red explosion which was followed by the applause and screeching of the students standing around. Bellatrix cursed inwardly for being caught hexing someone be a prefect, because that meant that she would be punished for that. Heavily. 

"I recall that using magic on other students is forbidden, isn't it, Miss Black?" Emmeline called out, taking steady steps towards the Slytherin student. Her steel eyes were glued on the figure of the frozen student. "The Headmaster would like to have a word with you about that."

Bellatrix sneered and glared at the student who had just been saved from her magic and was looking at Emmeline with gratefulness. The student turned around and continued sprinting down the hallway, her straight blonde hair covering the wide grin that had spread across her face.

Because Pandora had just managed to take one of Bellatrix Black's hair strands.

 

_"I think that's all about the preparations. And now is the time for the real plan to begin."_

"I can't believe I agreed to do this."

"Just take the clothes, drink the potion and come out when you're ready."

James shoved the green-black robe in Pandora's arms with determination, a vial with a  disgusting-looking liquid sitting on top of them. The girl rolled her eyes in dismay but did as he said and closed herself in one of the bathroom stalls of the Prefects' bathrooms in the fifth floor.

The Marauders' company waited patiently outside - Remus was silently reading a Muggle book, sat on a sink, with Sirius constantly poking him and distracting him, James was leaning against one of the closed stalls and Peter was staring at the clean waters of the huge pool the prefects had for a bathtub, wishing he could someday get in there. It was Friday night, and all of them had rushed in the bathrooms once dinner had ended (forced to use their sneaky skills and James' Invisibility Cloak).

After a few moments, the door of the stall opened and revealed none other than Bellatrix Black. Peter took a cautious step back unconsciously - he was always scared of the sadistic witch but would never admit that fact to anyone, moreover to his friends.

"Well?" she inquired, whirling around. "How do I look?"

"Just like cousin dearest," Sirius stated, making a disgusted face.

James nodded and copied Sirius' expression, "Absolutely hideous."

Pandora, looking nothing like herself, grinned and bowed, "Thank you, thank you."

"Actually, thanks to us for creating the Polyjuice potion in the first place, but anyway," Sirius suggested and clasped his hand over Peter's shoulder, causing the poor boy to tense up. "Ready, mate?"

Peter nodded eagerly and took out of his robes a camera his parents had given him the previous year for his birthday; it was one of the latest magic models, one which made the persons move in the colorful photo. He positioned the camera in front of his face and pointed the lens towards the disguised girl.

Pandora heaved a sigh and raised her skirt, revealing a pair of white panties with hearts and bears imprinted on them, picked and morphed into this for one purpose and only . . .

"Uh, smile!"

Within a second, Pandora had managed to wear the biggest, most fake smile and the moving picture was instantly taken. When the instant photo was printed out, she let the smile drop just like her skirt and waltzed back in the stall.

Sirius huffed and propped his head on Remus' shoulder, "I wish I could've enjoyed this, but . . . yuck."

James scrunched up his nose, "Agreed. At least we have a good shot, right, Wormy?"

Peter looked at the picture as he raised it against the moonshines peeking from the small windows and nodded, "Y-yeah, 'ish good."

"Great!" the boy with the glasses beamed and snatched the picture from Peter's hands. "I think it's time to move out now. Moony?"

Remus closed his book and checked the pocket watch his friends had managed to steal from Filch - and would return to him later, after his own demand -, "We still have five minutes left before my patrol starts."

The boys sat in silence, with occasional intense whispering between Remus and Sirius, since the Black heir hadn't seized down on poking Remus and bothering him. Pandora walked out of the stall after a few moments, dressed in her Ravenclaw robes while still being morphed into Bellatrix. The whole sight looked ridiculous and the Marauders felt more than awkward to be in the same room with Bellatrix's figure, even if it was a fake one. Remus and Pandora exchanged a glance before motioning to the others to follow them; the operation had begun.

Sirius and James managed to fit under the Invisibility Cloak, since they were the tinniest ones in the group, while Pandora cast a weak disillusionment charm on Peter - a spell she hadn't excelled at yet. The Marauders and Pandora walked cautiously in the dark corridors of the fifth floor with James cursing all the way down to the dungeons for how they should create a map just so they can move around freely and know passages that will lead them right to where they want to go in the blink of an eye.

"I'll find out."

Remus looked at Pandora - whose hair had started fading back to their blonde color - and walked closer to her, as he whispered back, "What will you find out?"

"Who you like," she whispered back and stole a glance from the invisible boys who were following them. The girl didn't miss the way her prefect partner's cheeks reddened slightly when she looked back at him, "Is it one of those boys? I bet it's Peter - a quiet one, just like you."

Remus was saved from James' intense whispering behind them, "We're here!"

In front of them was the entrance to the Slytherin dormitories, a stone wall which would open up only if one was to riddle the password. Remus chewed on his bottom lip, realizing that he had forgotten to sneak around and learn the password.

"Salazar."

All of the boys turned to look at Pandora but soon snapped their eyes on the quietly-moving bricks which revealed the entrance to the Common Room. When they looked back at her with surprise, she hovered her hand over her mouth, "Lucky guess. Slytherin is so predictable sometimes."

"Living up to her bloody Ravenclaw name," Peter whispered to himself but received affirmative nods from both boys who were still hiding under the Invisibility Cloak.

The four of them hurriedly entered the Common Room and stayed still when all of them had stepped on the silver carpet and the door was closed behind them. They observed the room dressed in green, a peculiar yet mesmerizing color that never failed to impress. That very color made Sirius feel disgusted and Peter fill his mind with excitement. James took off the cloak and smirked, feeling the adrenaline coursing through his veins as he imagined the best possible outcome of their first prank of the year. 

"We will split up. Sirius, you'll come with me; Remus and Peter, you can take the first, second and third-years' bedrooms. Make sure to use muffling charms and not to be seen, ay? I don't know how to use Obliviate yet."

As if all boys were connected, they gave affirmative and curt nods, not wasting another minute by waiting. They all sprang to different directions with small glass balls ringing softly in their pockets as they moved.

James and Sirius stopped right outside the fifth years' dormitories, Sirius signalling to his friend to be quiet as he had started giggling from the excitement and nervousness. James swallowed down his laughter and touched the doorknob, whispering  _'Alohomora'_. The door creaked open and swiftly enough, the wizard with the glasses cast a muffling charm on the door. His friend grinned and they slipped inside the room of the unsuspecting, sleeping Slytherin boys. 

A muffling charm was cast on themselves by Sirius and they advanced inside, slipping their hands in their pockets and bringing out the round glass balls which contained an unknown gas. The orange gas swirled inside them just as the balls were placed in each Slytherin student's robe. When all of the robes were filled with their secret weapon, the first half of the company was ready to head out to their next target when all of sudden, James came to a halt.

"What are you doing?" Sirius questioned rather intensively and neared his friend, only to glance at what he was looking at and press his hand against his mouth just so laughter wouldn't burst out of it.

Severus Snape was laying on his bed - more like, was sprawled on it - with only a green T-shirt and a pair of boxers on and besides his head on the pillow was a picture of Lily and him. They had goofy smiles drawn on their faces and the picture was probably taken with a Muggle camera, seeing that it wasn't a moving image. 

Sirius leaned close to James, "Seems that Snivellus is scared of sleeping alone, boo-hoo."

James nodded and snickered, seeming to agree to that sentence. Yet James was feeling jealousy pressing down on his heart and Sirius couldn't help but crave for a moment of happiness with a certain someone like the one the two were sharing in the picture.

The black-haired male was the one who broke the silence, "Let's go."

Half an hour had passed and Peter was waiting with Remus in the Slytherin Common Room for his friends, anxiety filling him and telling him that they had been caught. If they were caught, it wouldn't be easy to help them get out of it and if they were caught - oh Merlin, what were his parents going to say when they would learn all about their son's actions in the school? These thoughts were bugging him to the point he was digging his nails in his palms, ramming them in the flesh to the point it would turn red and get slightly bruised.

Relief washed over him when the two appeared from the left staircase and descended it quickly, trying not to laugh loudly in the process. Their faces were painted red from their efforts of keeping inside the laughter and they stood besides Remus and Peter, heaving hardly. 

Remus couldn't help but grin at the sight of the two rascals, "Let's just get over with it, yes? The picture, Prongs."

The curly-haired boy searched in his pockets and handed over the picture of the fake Bellatrix and her funny panties once he found it. Remus placed the picture on the main table of the hall and pointed his wand on it, recalling the spell and the way he had to wave his wand for it, a curse Pandora had helped him to learn during the weekend.

" _Geminio_."

Nothing happened to the picture but all of the boys smirked - even Remus - as they knew what would happen to the picture once someone would touch it. Bellatrix Black's panties' shot would be all around the Slytherin Common Room for everyone to see.

"And now, the epilogue, gentlemen."

James summoned his quill and a piece of paper and he whispered two words. Once the words were imprinted on it, the paper flew above the fireplace, as if it was a trophy or a Christmas' present. The Marauders walked out of the Slytherin Common Room with giggles and reddened cheeks, because they knew that they had managed to do it all together: the first prank of their year in Hogwarts. 

  ☽ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ☾  

As expected, the breakfast of the next morning was loud and filled with screaming and laughing. It was the first time Professor McGonagall was forced to tell Professor Slughorn, the head of the Slytherin house, to order his students to quieten down before she would be forced to subtract points from their house. Just as she was uttering these words, a screech was heard from the entrance of the dining hall followed by intense clicking of heels on the pavement.

"You filthy pimps! Trolls!"

McGonagall's eyes trailed along the sea of students who had glued their eyes on a red from fury Bellatrix Black marching towards a particular group of boys who were infamous for their pranks.

"Rats! You, you, you . . . You rat-faced toerags!"

"The only one who can call me a toerag is Lily!"

"Shut up, Potter!"

That was McGonagall's cue to get in between the group of students who were about to start fighting with each other.

Bellatrix was ready to curse the group of boys who were holding back their laughter but was blocked by the Gryffindor head teacher.

"Miss Black, that's enough!" she stated boldly, causing the girl to stop only two feet away from the Marauders and huff. "Please do seize down with the curse words and explain to me why you are screeching that early in the morning!"

"They - I don't know how but I know it's  _them_  - filled our Common Room with false pictures of me!" the Slytherin girl screeched.

Before she could let out another frustrated scream, louder voices and murmuring filled the hall, coming out from the location of the Slytherin table until a commotion was created. From the looks of it, orange slime had started coming out of the robes of the students, the first-years being nearly covered from head to toe already. The company of Severus and Regulus was knowingly glaring at them, looking as if they were ready to assassinate them. 

Professor McGonagall turned to look at the boys but before she could utter a word, James stated proudly the very same words he had written last night on the paper he had left in the Slytherin Common Room and would cost them one hundred points of their house.

" _Mischief Managed_."


	5. Come as you are

The calmness of the lake was disrupted by grey stones splashing against its surface. After three or four jumps, the grey rocks would be swallowed by the black waters of the lake and the boys who were throwing them would be left staring at their reflections on it. The sharp breeze was moving quickly through the pine forest, signalling the end of October and the beginning of a new moon cycle.

One of the boys slumped down before a tree, pulling his red robes closer to his body. "'Tis started gettin' cold," Peter exclaimed, his words coming out shakily due to the extensive clattering of his teeth.

The taller boy, Remus, was standing still and was staring off at the other side of the lake. He didn't register what his friend had just told him; yet he could feel the cold slipping through the fabric of his clothes and prickling his skin, he could hear the faraway crunching of leaves caused by unknown to him creatures of the forest, he could view the first-year Hufflepuffs hiding behind the trees by the other side of the lake. He could feel himself going crazy, slipping away, and he was so absorbed in trying to concentrate on every sound, image and sense, that he hadn't noticed his legs giving in and him falling back.

Peter was so unprepared for this sudden movement that he barely managed to fall forward and put his hand under where Remus' head fell, releasing a cry in the progress.

"Bollocks!" he screamed, crouching besides his dizzy friend. "Moony, are you alive?! O-Oh, Merlin, you better be, oh Merlin . . . "

With a sudden jolt of his hands, the boy opened his eyes and sucked in a breath, sending a wave of relief to the ginger Gryffindor. Remus rolled to his side, heaving softly, with one side of his head pressed against the dirt and fallen, dead leaves. Peter could do nothing but stare, ready to run back to the castle with any unusual movements or cracking sounds.

"I can't do this anymore."

"What?"

Remus hid his face behind his hands which slid up to his face, drained of any color, "This situation, it's . . . too much. I . . . My body can't take this anymore. It's worsening."

Peter didn't have to ask to know what he was talking about.  _Lycanthropy_. Remus was infected from the scratch given to him by an infamous werewolf, Fenrir Greyback, when he was little and ever since, the one time of the month the moon was taking the size of the sun in the sky, he was turning into one of them - a werewolf. The new moon cycle had begun and whereas Remus wasn't supposed to be affected this early, there he was, nearly fainting just a couple of moments ago.

"What's been happening, Moony?"

Remus managed to sit up at once - one of the positive effects of his condition - and he slipped his hands under his shirt, tugging it up. The ginger boy gasped at the sight - long red marks were spread across his stomach, not deep yet seemingly painful.

"I did this to myself, in my sleep. With my nails, which aren't even sharp enough to be able to cause this kind of damage," he murmured, letting his shirt fall back to place. The brown-haired boy looked at his friend with despair, almost sorrowfully, "I don't even think you three will be able to help me this month."

"D-don't be silly, Remus! Of course we will!" Peter retorted, even though he was uncertain of his own sayings. His hand latched out and grabbed the boy's cold arm, "Besides, Prongs has perfected his . . . you-know-what form, and Padf - "

"No." Remus sighed and shakily stood up, his hands clenched to his sides. "I . . . I think I'll go back to the castle now, excuse me."

Two sad blue eyes watched as the boy departed, leaving his friend all alone, crouched on the ground. He felt tears prickling his eyes and he wiped his eyes with the edge of his sleeve, biting nervously on his thumb afterwards. If the situation was just like Remus had described, he couldn't rest and wait for something bad to take place. He had to do something, something that would help his friend's condition.

And for that, he would need some help.

  ☽ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ☾ 

The Gryffindor Common Room was fuller than usual. Students were sat around the few tables, either studying or trying out jinxes and charms on items. A girl managed to turn an apple into a paper plane which immediately flew into the hair of another girl sitting on the couch. The girl rubbed her head annoyingly, sending a side-way glare to the other, who muttered a tiny and squeaky apology.

"Mar."

The girl whose light ginger hair had a paper plane tangled in them snapped her head up, "What?"

"Stop being so mean to first-years," Lily Evans pointed out, flicking her friend's forehead just as she slumped down to the seat besides her.

"Trying to get in the role of the Head Girl from now, Evans?"

"You bet."

Lily Evans, the girl whose hair could rival fire, and eyes which hid the vast pine forests of Scotland in them, sat in silence besides one of her best friends, Marlene McKinnon, who, in the meanwhile, was fixing the strands of her light ginger hair as if they weren't perfectly arranged already. Suddenly, a blur of yellow and pink fell on their laps, causing the hazel-eyed ginger to screech. The blur turned out to be a girl with light, pink hair which completed the black and yellow robes she was wearing; she was giggling furiously just as she was being pushed off the couch by the two girls.

"Dork!" Marlene exclaimed, an exasperated sigh parting from her lips.

The Hufflepuff girl took a seat between her two friends, her smile hidden behind her hand, "You two should have seen your faces!"

"How did you manage to get in here, Dorcas?" Lily questioned, straightening her now-wrinkled skirt due to the sudden attack of the small girl.

Dorcas Meadowes, a tiny girl with pink hair which was fading back to a dark blue at that moment and a smile which was worth more than Sirius Black's one, scratched the back of her head, "Guessed the password because I'm an, ah - genius!"

The vague look on Lily's face showed her uncertainty for her words, and Dorcas pouted. "It isn't that hard to guess the word 'Lionheart', when Fabian Prewett is your Head Boy!"

Marlene didn't seem to pay attention to her friend's apology as her hand trailed on the yellow robes she was wearing, "Why are you still wearing your house robes? It's the weekend."

"Ah, I . . . " she trailed off, fiddling with the edge of one of her sleeves. "I just felt like wearing them today, that's all."

The look on Marlene's face hardened, fury filling her all of sudden, "I told you to tell me whenever these scrawny Hufflepuffs take your clothes! Why didn't you tell me something?! Merlin's beard!"

"Mar, please . . . "

"Marlene, let it go," Lily stated, her hands resting in a comforting manner on Dorcas' shoulders just as the girl wiped furiously her eyes. "Talk is over for now."

"But - "

"Such a surprise seeing you here, Lily-flower."

The group of the three girls turned their heads towards the direction of the all-too-familiar voice; James and Sirius, the two charmers of Gryffindor, were standing just before them. Marlene snorted just as she laid her eyes upon them and Lily crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Where did you expect me to be, Potter?"

"Someplace closer to me, for sure."

"Not even in your dreams, you bloody git."

James was about to reply to the girl, yet he was cut off when someone tapped his shoulder with force from behind. Turning around, Peter was looking at both him and Sirius, his big round eyes almost pleading for help. Being commonly oblivious, though, James paid no attention to that detail.

"Wormtail?"

"Mates, I really need some help with, er, something."

Sirius raised his eyebrows in amusement, "Which is . . . ?"

"I . . . I can't really tell you . . . But - !"

James patted the shorter male's shoulder, chuckling softly, "Then it mustn't be  _that_  important, right? It can wait!" He leaned closer so he could whisper. "Besides, Lily-flower actually talked back to me this time, so it's really not the time for it."

Dorcas and Lily glanced curiously at the small exchange of words between the boys just before James focused back on them with his usual cocky smirk. Peter was about to retort this suggestion just as his friends turned their attention back to the group of girls but he shut his mouth just as quickly as he had opened it. For once, he had to carry out this task all by himself, something he had never done for all these years in Hogwarts. James and Sirius were the ones who were planning out their pranks; he was the one who was helping them execute them. 

For once, he had to get in their shoes and take the matter in his hands.

  ☽ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ☾  

It was past midnight and Peter hadn't gotten a wink of sleep. By that time, he would be snoring loudly and dreaming of Hippogriffs, but anxiety was eating away slowly his will to fall asleep. Half an hour ago, he had seen Sirius slipping out of Remus' bed and climbing up to his own, and that was the moment Remus' shuffling and cries had come to a stop. Peter knew that Sirius and Remus used to sleep in the same bed for some reason unknown to him - he had thought this had stopped happening three years ago at least. 

He slowly sat up on his bed and let his bare feet touch the cold pavement, shivering slightly but nevertheless standing up. The boy edged closer to James' bed, in which the messy-haired male was sprawled on and knocked out, and shuffled through the contents of his trunk. Soon, his fingers came in contact with the silk cloth, feeling like he was holding liquid when he pulled it out. Peter draped it over himself and instantly, he became invisible to his surroundings.

It was easy enough to slip through the Fat Lady's portrait and soon enough, he found himself in front of the library of the castle. Setting a quick 'Alohomora' to the lock, Peter opened the door and closed it behind him as silently as he could. He held his breath in once he registered he had managed to get into the library during the night without being ratted out by Peeves or Mrs Norris.

The ginger male found his way to the Restricted Section of the library and wasted no time in waiting and worrying about being caught - he immediately started searching around for anything that could help Remus' condition. Passing dusty books with titles such as  _Secrets of the Darkest Arts_  and  _Magick Moste Evile_ , Peter grew hopeless and more anxious. However, he soon stopped in front of a white book with dark letters imprinted on it, spelling: _Vampires, Werewolves and Fairies: A Guide._

Peter held back a screech of excitement and immediately grabbed the book, a wave of relief washing over him. However, his feelings of joy were quickly cut off just as he felt something rubbing against his leg. Slowly, he looked down and held back a scream, just as Mrs Norris mewed.

He didn't have to turn around to know that Filch was standing besides him; he was grabbed by the ear and was dragged down the hallway with the Invisibility Cloak and the restricted book in his hands. Peter didn't know what hurt more - the fact that he was caught when trying to help his best friend or Filch's hold on his ear. The boy could tell where he was being taken without even looking, thus he wasn't surprised when he was thrown in a room dressed in crimson red and yellow with a seemingly angry Professor McGonagall standing still, hands crossed in a strict manner and her hair pulled in her usual neat bun. 

"Of all the people in the school, I didn't expect  _you_ , Mr. Pettigrew, to end up in my room late at night for trespassing the school grounds. Despite given your status with those marauders . . . Yes, Argus, you may leave."

Filch shot the boy with a scrawny look before leaving the room with Mrs Norris trailing behind him. Upon his departure, Peter could clearly feel the tension filling the space and he bowed down his head, ready to accept any kind of lecture from the head of the Gryffindor house. 

"Did Mr. Potter and Mr. Black put you to do this?"

He shook his head negatively. 

"Then you better have a good explanation as to why you are up this late at night walking in the halls, or shall I say early in the morning, since it's almost three in the morning, Mr. Pettigrew!" McGonagall stated boldly, her eyes mercilessly staring at the scared boy. 

"I just . . . Professor, you know about Remus' condition, right?" he murmured, raising his head just to look at her. 

The old woman's face didn't even twitch, yet surprise could be traced in her voice, "The question here is how  _you_  know about it, Mr. Pettigrew."

"Professor, I-I don't think you're a fool. You  _know_  we all know. I mean, the three of us. Remus is our best friend; it's hard not to notice all t-the scars and the mood swings and his regular visits to the infirmary," the ginger boy suggested, his fingers tapping against his leg nervously. He didn't dare to bring up the Animagi detail, even though he figured that she already knew about it - or at least, Dumbledore did.

McGonagall took a seat on her bed, sighing tiredly, "You're correct. However, I fail to see what is the relation between Mr. Lupin's condition and your late-night adventures."

Peter bit the inside of his cheek, feeling the blood being drained from his whole body. "Remus isn't . . . He's worsening. I don't know w-why, but . . . H-He told me yesterday and I-I -" He couldn't hold back his upcoming tears and he stopped talking just to wipe his eyes with the back of his palms. 

The professor's eyes shot open in surprise, "And you were searching for something to help him?" Peter nodded, slightly red eyes avoiding to look at the older woman. 'Foolish boy, not telling his professors or Poppy about his condition!' she thought angrily.

"I would subtract twenty points from Gryffindor for trespassing but in that case . . . " McGonagall patted the empty space on her bed besides her, motioning for the boy to come. "I'm certain we'll find something that will help him."

Minerva McGonagall was truly the strictest person in Hogwarts, yet Peter's lion heart couldn't help but remind her of an old friend, and if that friend was still there, he would have done the same thing.

  ☽ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ☾ 

Rock by rock, the black lake was disrupted again as ripples were created on its surface. The very same two boys who were there three days ago were sitting on its edge, the frosty water brushing against the soles of their shoes. The tallest one, Remus, was staring off to the horizon with a tired expression masking his whole face. The ginger one, Peter, was fiddling awkwardly with something inside his pocket.

"Moony?"

The male glanced at his friend with his empty green eyes, purple marks being drawn under them, showing his lack of sleep, "Mhm."

"Remember how you told me the other day about . . . you know," Peter stammered, eyeing his friend just as he nodded affirmatively at his inquiry. "I kind of . . . found something that . . . "

He pulled his hand out of his pocket and revealed a tiny bottle which held a suspicious-looking, green liquid inside it. Remus stared questionably at it before looking up at Peter. "I-It's called Wolfsbane potion and it's supposed to help people who suffer from Lycanthropy . . . I wouldn't give it to you if I didn't know for sure it worked; I did some research and brewed it myself and the book said that it has positive effects on the person, it reduces your mood swings and - "

Peter's rambling was cut in half just as he was pulled into a tight hug ( _too tight_ , due to the ridiculous force a werewolf possessed) by Remus. His hand which held the Wolfsbane potion trembled, yet he didn't relax his hold on it.

"Thank you. So much. You didn't need to but you did anyways. So, thank you," the tall boy whispered, and Peter felt his shoulder getting wet. He hugged his best friend back. 

"Come as you are, Moony."

Remus pulled back and wiped the edges of his eyes, chuckling afterwards, "I-It's from the mood swings, I swear."

Peter couldn't help but grin slightly, handing over the potion to an emotional Remus. "Madam Pomfrey told me to drink one per day during the bad days of the moon cycle," he mentioned happily, scratching the back of his head.

Remus opened his mouth to say something, however he suddenly furrowed his eyebrows  and began sniffing the air in a crazed manner. Peter grew perplexed and was about to ask his friend what had happened, but was silenced by Remus raising his hand.

"Sirius is near," he announced, his lips being tugged down in a frown.

Peter shrugged, "The more, the better."

"Someone else is with him. An oddly familiar smell . . . weird footing . . . "

Without any further explanations, Remus lunged towards the inner side of the forest and the ginger boy wasted no time as he shot up and started walking fast behind him. It wasn't long before the scarred boy stood still behind a tree and tried to register the owner of the peculiar aroma. Peter arrived moments later, panting and cursing inwardly Remus' werewolf abilities to move faster than the wind.

"Shh," Remus said lowly, causing the boy to stop moving. 

They could both hear chatters edging closer to their location and after a few moments, a pair came in sight. The one, dressed in black and crimson, leaned gruffly against a tree and pushed his long black curls out of his face.  _Sirius_. And across him stood a male with robes matching the tree leaves which hadn't given in the cold yet, and eyes as dark as the grey clouds decorating the sky. Once they laid their eyes upon him, their breaths hitched in the back of their throats and a single name crossed their minds simultaneously.

' _Regulus_.'    


	6. Toujours Pur

The silent scene which held so much tension was unraveled before the two shocked boys' eyes, who were peering at the sight from behind a humongous tree. Sirius had his back pressed against the aged body of a tree and his eyes were stuck on every movement of Regulus.

Regulus Arcturus Black, two years younger than Sirius, had his royal grey eyes set on the branches of the trees which held little to no leaves, as the autumn breeze brushed against his dark hair, a shorter version of his brother's luscious strands. He stood still across his brother, seemingly calm, yet his intense heartbeats were audible to the sly hearing of Remus.

"How are you?"

Sirius' plain question caused Regulus to snap his eyes on him, a questionable expression ghosting over his face, "You asked me to come here just to ask me how I am?"

"You can leave if you want."

Regulus scoffed, averting his eyes back on a seemingly more interesting puddle of water, "I'm fine."

"I think that hanging out with persons like Malfoy and Snivellus doesn't equivalent to being fine," Sirius countered back, amusement tinting his voice.

"Said the person who is hanging out with muggleborns and hybrid scum - "

In a heartbeat, Sirius' wand was pressed against Regulus' throat, rage burning on its tip and in the pale eyes of Sirius. Regulus' expression didn't change by an inch, yet his fingers , which were close to his wand's position in his pocket, twitched slightly.

"Don't ever compare my friends to those Death Eaters . . . " Sirius growled lowly, disappointment being clearly painted on his words. "Blood holds no importance."

Regulus snickered, causing his brother to furrow his eyebrows in confusion, "You may have been ostracized from the family, Sirius, but our family's blood still runs in your veins. The blood of the Black.  _Toujours pur_ , remember? Always pure, no matter what."

Recognition flashed in Sirius' eyes and he took a step back, his wand releasing the pressure on Regulus' neck. His mind was blurred, thoughts dangling in it like the branches of the gray trees, and all he could do was stare at his brother - was he, really, his brother anymore? Already fourteen of age and he abode by the ancient rules of his family, the same rules which had inflicted wounds on him, adorning his body and soul with as many scars as the stars his name's constellation held.

Without a second thought, Sirius pulled his hand back and waved his wand violently towards Regulus. The young boy had little time to react, thus he found himself flying back and stopping abruptly only when his body was flung against a tree trunk. Regulus glanced at his brother with fear, the same fear Sirius' eyes were filled with whenever he returned to the dreadful house in Grimmauld Place. 

However, the younger Black didn't hesitate to fight back; in a split second, his wand was in his hand, pointed towards Sirius, and the curse was already leaving his mouth, "Incarcerous!" 

"Protego!"

An invisible shield blocked the curse from reaching Sirius, the dark ropes flying away from their target.

"Stupefy!"

The counter attack was blocked by a flick of Regulus' wand and even the Slytherin boy was surprised from his successful defense. In the next moment, the unexpected happened.

Sirius' ears were filled with static once the all-too familiar curse was shot to him and he fell to the ground, his body feeling out of place all of sudden. It was like his skin was being pierced by hot knives, diving and burning through every inch of his body. Even though he had experienced worse, his eyes watered from the pain, the immense pain that shocked his whole existence and made him feel as if his heart was being split in two. His screams filled the once quiet forest, resonating in each and every direction. It hurt,  _it hurt_ , yet the emotional pain he suffered from was greater than the physical because how dare,  _how dare_  his own beloved brother direct one of the Unforgivables on him, the same curse which had ingrained permanent traumas in him.

When the Cruciatus curse worn off, Sirius looked up groggily from his laying position on the ground, only to see the blurry figure of his brother running away. He lied still with his eyes steeled on the unwavering branches of the ancient trees. That was when the first tears slipped off his eyes, feeling cold against his heated cheeks. His whole body shook and he wrapped his arms around himself, realization having struck upon him. 'He turned out like  _them_. He became one of  _them_.'

It was only minutes later that Sirius managed to lift himself off the ground and rub his hands against his wet face.

"It will be okay, it will be okay," he whispered to himself, not knowing if he chanted it for him or for his brother. 

A sudden noise disrupted the calmness of the forest and Sirius snapped his red eyes towards the source of it, his hand already clutching his wand. Millions of thoughts ran through his head, about how someone could have watched all of this and any possible outcome of them telling anyone; the Black heir was scared, yet that didn't stop him from raising his wand. 

"Confringo!"

The tree trunk from where the noise came was engulfed in an orange glow which caused it to explode, just a moment after two figures jumped away from it. Sirius lunged towards the two figures, wand always in hand, and was more than shocked to see two of his best friends laying on the mud with fear being drawn on their faces.

Sirius lowered his wand, "M-Moony? Wormtail? What are you . . . "

Remus was laying with his back on the muddy ground, his right arm placed over Peter's abdomen protectively after they had jumped away from the tree. Peter's droopy blue eyes were glued on Sirius' figure, soon filling with translucent tears that threatened to fall any minute then.

"Suh-Sirius . . . "

Sirius' lower lip quivered and he had to bite down on it to stop, feeling his own clouded eyes filling with tears for once more. At the sight of that, Remus was up on his feet in an instant and he pulled the shorter male in a hug. The boy tried to push him away but he eventually gave in his friend's comforting arms and let his sorrowful tears run on his shoulder.

Remus and Peter desperately wanted to say something, but both were discouraged  by the uneven sobs leaving the shaking Gryffindor's mouth. For they had just realized that the amount of pain Sirius was in all this time, the hidden pain that he suffered from, had passed unnoticed by all.

And that was what hurt them the most.

  ☽ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ☾ 

The spilled ink on the parchment was taking the form of letters and words, the enchanted quill graciously painting them. James' eyes were stuck on the writings of his quill with his hands buried in the mess of his hair, his fingers tangling with the locks whenever what he wrote wasn't satisfactory enough. There was a light crease forming between his eyebrows every time he was sighing in disappointment, and after twenty minutes of suffering, he dropped on his bed and let his quill fall on the ground. 

'Why is poetry so hard?' he inquired internally, crossing his arms in front of his chest out of frustration. He had been trying for  _hours_  to compose a poem for Lily, yet he had no idea what word rhymed with 'Lily'.

James's head jolted up just as the dormitory door was slammed open, only to reveal a worried Peter who was cradling a battered-looking Sirius in his arms with the help of Remus. He immediately shot up from his bed and sprinted towards them, helping them carry Sirius in the nearest bed; no questions asked. Remus was the one they were used to carrying, thus the dead-looking Sirius felt strange in their arms, increasing James' worry, his fear for the worst possible scenario of what had caused his friend to be like this.

He was unconsciously tightening his hold around Sirius' left arm, causing the boy to groan in pain. Remus was the one to pray his fingers off the boy which made James glance up at him, only to realize at that moment how unusually pale Remus was. He was scared for life.

The three of them didn't exchange a word and waited for Sirius to move, to speak, to do something. It was only after two minutes that Sirius opened his eyes and stared at his friends, grey eyes desperately trying to apologize. 

James was perplexed to oblivion and back. 

"What . . . what happened?"

Remus opened his mouth but no words came out, as if they were too sacred to be spelled. He glanced at Peter who simply averted his gaze, a whimper leaving his parted lips. The werewolf simply shook his head and avoided crossing sights with Sirius, "James, I . . . think it would be wise if Sirius was the one to give us an explanation because, in all honesty, I can't . . . "

'He can't describe what he saw,' James voiced internally as he gave a small pat to Remus' tense shoulder. Carefully, he settled down besides Sirius and interlocked his hand with his trembling one. 

"Sirius," he breathed out, continuing to talk only when those sad, grey eyes had settled on his own hazel ones. "How are you?"

Sirius looked appalled by the question and soon, his whole body started trembling by the unleashed sobs he kept behind his sealed mouth. James leaned down and rested his chin on top of the boy's forehead, his free hand's fingers stroking tenderly his long black hair. They rested in this position in front of the worrying looks of the other two boys until Sirius' croaky voice was heard.

"They ruined me, James. They . . . the whole summer, they . . . And then Regulus - my poor baby brother, oh Merlin . . ."

"Shh, settle down, I'm here, I'm here."

As soon as James pulled back, the Black heir sat up on the bed and intertwined his hands in front of him. Instinctively, Remus sat on the other side of the bed and placed his own hand over Sirius' hand mesh, while Peter took a seat at the end of the bed, across from Sirius. 

James could see how reluctant his best friend was, how scared and terrified he was of opening his mouth and taking the weight of his parents' crimes off his shoulders. With his eyes stuck on the boy, he couldn't help but wonder how this strong youth, full of life and determination, had tuned into an insecure boy, void of any life and emotion. 

Sirius lifted up his head and breathed in, "All three of you know that my house isn't . . . the friendliest household in the world. You know that my parents aren't the best parents in the world. But after I stepped back in that - that bloody house when summer started, hell broke loose.

"My parents never really liked me. Ever since I was sorted into Gryffindor, at least. And this summer . . . I guess they wanted to show their hate for me in a more . . . _practical_  form, I shall say." Sirius bit his lower lip and squinted his eyes. "They used curses on me. For every little mistake I did. I didn't even know the names of some of these curses - they really did help me learn them well, though."

Sirius hadn't noticed he had started crying until Remus' fingers brushed against his grimy cheeks which were now varnished with tears. The long-haired boy simply shook his head, "They didn't stop there. At the end of the summer, they made me an offer. They'd stop using jinxes and curses on me and would accept me back in the family if . . . If I joined the Death Eaters."

Peter gasped and James tightened his hold on Sirius' shoulder. Remus looked completely horrified and he glanced away, pressing his lips into a thin line before he could say something that would make him lose his cool. 

"I declined. Of course I did, how could I . . . How could I join these, these . . . " Sirius pressed on, his hands tightening around one another. "They used the Crucatius curse on me. In front of Regulus. In front of my baby brother. And they . . .  _Those bastards made him join those pureblood fucks!_ "

Rage filled Sirius' voice and eyes and he balled his hands into fists, nails hungrily digging into his palms and seeking blood for redemption. The others could feel his anger radiating off his body, moreover James, his brother separated by blood. The pure blood that had brought him the greatest misfortunes.

"Sirius . . . "

"Sirius."

Remus' strict tone snapped Sirius back to reality, grey eyes boring into gentle, green ones. He felt Remus' rough hands stroking his own, separating them from their engaged mess. He was awestruck by that warm smile of the werewolf, the reassuring hold on his shoulder by James and the believing blue eyes of Peter which were glued on him as if they could view his soul. 

"Whatever happens, we are here for you," Peter muttered. "Regulus isn't a lost cause, Padfoot, he's your brother, after all."

"The brother of the most rebellious person I've ever met," joined Remus, his hands still stroking Sirius' palms. 

"And we are the Marauders, aren't we?" James boomed, shaking slightly Sirius' shoulder. "No matter what, we are together in this. You're not alone, you hear? Even if it takes us years to achieve, even if it will create a war, we'll save him. To hell with the Black family - you're not them. And Regulus isn't one of them, either."

Sirius opened his mouth to say something but he was cut short by Remus. "He's scared, Sirius. He's just a child. And you - we, need to be the ones to save him. If he means a lot to you, then he means a lot to us, too. We're family, Sirius. And family doesn't abandon their family."

In the heart of Sirius Orion Black, a part of it shifted. A part of it changed. Because that was the moment he realized that family isn't bonded by blood and flesh - family is bonded by love and care. And for that matter, he wasn't going to let Regulus Arcturus Black perish. 

He wasn't going to let it burn. He was going to throw himself in the fire and bring his brother out,  _alive_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed this chapter full of drama and tears - don't forget to drop some kudos and comments!


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